TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama said goodbye to Florida coach Urban Meyer after the Southeastern Conference Championship game. On Jan. 2, the Crimson Tide will say hello to his former team and one of his disciples.

Birmingham News
Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson scrambles against Florida in Saturday's SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Wilson and the Crimson Tide (12-1) will take on unbeaten Utah (12-0) in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

No. 4 Alabama (12-1) will face No. 7 Utah (12-0) in the Sugar Bowl in the Superdome at 7 p.m. (Fox 6). The announcement came Sunday night during the Bowl Selection Show on Fox Sports.

On the heels of a 31-20 loss to new No. 1 Florida Saturday, UA plays one of the nation's two undefeated teams. Both fan bases will receive 17,500 tickets.

Coach Kyle Whittingham's Utes received an automatic Bowl Championship Series berth by being ranked 12th or better and being the highest ranked non-BCS conference champion. Meyer had coached Utah to a perfect season in 2004 before taking a job coaching the Gators and giving way to Whittingham.

That means Alabama will see a lot of what it saw Saturday. Coach Nick Saban was asked if he's sick of facing that offense.

"Not really," Saban said. "It's very challenging. I'm surprised more people don't use some part of it, because it's very difficult to defend. We're looking forward to facing Utah. Statistically, they do all the things good teams do to go undefeated."

As for Whittingham, whose team led the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 37.4 points per game, he still maintains a friendship with Meyer. You can figure the two might even exchange game plans.

"I'll be on the phone to Urban Meyer on the car ride home," said Whittingham, who added that his offense is similar to the Gators. "We've hung on to the spread attack after Urban Meyer left. We employ a lot of the same elements," Whittingham said.

As for Saban, he will return to the scene of one of the biggest wins of his career. Following the 2003 season, his LSU Tigers defeated Oklahoma 21-14 to win the national title in a game played in the Sugar Bowl.